Thanks to the timely arrival of the teachers and the upperclassmen, the chaos that unfolded within the dormitories, specifically the First Year males dormitory, was swiftly handled.
In total, there were 17 injured students, three of them needed immediate care and excessive healing from Doctor Xavier.
Maxine remained by Zeke’s side, repeatedly checking up on him and instructing him not to run away on his own, as was his wont.
Although panicked and still fearful, the students were ordered to return to their respective rooms and try to rest. No classes will be held tomorrow to allow them a brief respite and thoroughly investigate the whole affair.
Amongst the rampaging students, the most troublesome one was Fylard. His ability had totally run out of control, thus forcing Celestia to deploy violent measures to subdue him.
Even though he was taken to the infirmary, Professor Nayro remained by his side, not as an escort but as a guard.
“We should’ve locked him up the moment we started suspecting him.” Said Maxine with her teeth gritted.
She was in the cozy lounge room of the Special Investigation Squad, all members were present and fully awake despite how late it was.
“We couldn’t recklessly and rashly jump to conclusions. He was one of the main suspects but judging from what happened, he was clearly used. Furthermore, Rodrick still refuses to talk.”
“About that…” V scratched his head and hesitantly declared, “Rodrick’s father came to retrieve his son. The Principal had expelled him, apparently.”
“...”
The mood turned worse as all seven students maintained a long and gloomy silence. Celestia was dissatisfied with this outcome but she couldn’t object to Solas’ actions, nor had she the authority to do so.
“Celestia, I’ve read the initial report… one student has gone missing. One of Fylard’s classmates, Maxwell Lepard.”-James
‘It must be the one I was going to chase. So he was the Ivory Oak Order disciple?’
Zeke kept his counsel and pondered inwardly, nevertheless, he kept his ears perked as he was interested in this secret organization and its, as of yet, unknown objective.
“Hmmm, is that so? Either he’s hiding or he’s the perpetrator. I suppose he was Fylard’s roommate?”
James looked at the folder in his head and then solemnly nodded. “Out of the four of them, he was the only one who didn’t ‘transform’. I think it’s safe to establish him as the mastermind.”
“But why would he do that? Why would he distribute the drug then run away?!”-Maxine
“An experiment, perhaps.” Replied the composed Vanessa, who was standing near the window and staring at the star-filled night sky.
“The Ivory Oak Order is different from its peers. It is a fully functional organization, carefully constructed and meticulously ordered. Basically, it doesn’t resort to rituals or summonings, instead of relying on dangerous Aether-related experiments.”
As the ashen-haired girl voiced her opinion, John pulled down his hood for the first time, revealing his face.
However, only Zeke was the surprised one, the rest already knew his appearance.
The youth had a bony face, round jet-black pupils, and distinguishably dark red hair. The most eye-catching thing was his mouth, which seemed to be sued using thick black threads, thus making him feel particularly frightening, like a creature from a horror movie. It made me wonder how he was able to talk with literally sued lips.
Upon seeing his junior’s reaction, John reassuringly waved his hand and explained,
“This is a protective measure to limit my ability, don’t worry about it.”
Then he turned to look at Vanessa, his eyes narrowed, “Why are you so sure that it’s the Ivory Oak Order? As far as I know, the Ascetic Blasphemers also conduct all sorts of experiments.”
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Upon the mention of the legion of absolute fanatics; The Ascetic Blasphmeres, Maxine’s body twitched as she stealthily glanced at Zeke, but the latter was stoic and seemingly unaffected.
“No.” Resolutely retorted Vanessa, a faint frown surfacing her round and beautiful face.
“The Ivory Oak Order prioritizes success whereas the Ascetic Blasphemers prioritize secrecy. The latter would never risk getting found out, even at the cost of completing a revolutionary experiment. I’m certain we’re dealing with the former.”
“Well, if you say so…”
John shrugged then stood up, slowly removing the stitches while Celestial explained a few things to Zeke,
“John’s ability is the most unique out of all of us. It’s called ‘The Voice of Truth’, and as the name suggests, he is able to mouth the truth with ascertained veracity even if he lacks the knowledge. However, it strains his body greatly and significantly shortens his lifespan, so we only use it as a last resort.”
Still a bit confused, Zeke looked at the scary-looking youth and asked, “Then how is he able to talk?”
“A 3rd-grade Artifact: Talking Sin.”
Celestia pointed at a bronze bracelet around John’s wrist; It was plain-looking and lacked any defining characteristics. If she didn’t point at it, Zeke wouldn’t have noticed it.
Soon, the stitches were fully removed and, much to Zeke’s surprise, John’s mouth transformed into that of a beast. There was an upper and lower row of pointy silver teeth, and there were slits that went from one ear to the other.
Even though John was in control of his own body, the mouth seemed to be sentient as a snake-like tongue slithered outside and licked the teeth disgustingly.
“My my, such an illustrious company, as always.”
In contrast to its hideous appearance, the voice was melodious and strikingly feminine.
“Oh? Another addition too? A special one… very, very special. I even feel something… familiar.”
John wasn’t looking at Zeke yet it was obvious the voice was directed at him, making him feel uncomfortable. Moreover, it immediately noticed something that even the System failed to detect, therefore adding more to Zeke’s wariness and shock.
“Johnny boy, won’t you lend me your eyes for a second?”
John furiously shook his head, however, he was unable to resist as his eyes changed too. They turned from black to shining purple, locking onto Zeke’s figure almost instantly.
“Yes, yes. What an unusual combination, if I do say so myself. Very well, as a reward, I’ll answer two questions instead of one, but only that cute little boy can ask the second.”
Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, Zeke lowered his head embarrassingly and remained quiet.
Celestia cleared her throat and once she collected her thoughts, she asked,
“O’venerable Alexia, for what purpose did the Ivory Oak Order infiltrate Erys and give the drug to the students?”
While licking ‘her’ lips and intensely looking at Zeke, Alexia, dubbed the Talking Sin, hummed a soft tone for a couple of breaths then offered a response,
“To raise their status within the Ivory Oak Order, four disciples led by Frederic Miller, conducted an experiment to produce an Elixir dubbed as ‘Ability Enhancement’, which would increase the potency of the consumer’s powers. Lacking suitable subjects, Maxwell Lepard volunteered to infiltrate Erys and use the students as test subjects.”
The answer given by Alexia was lacking a few important information, but Celestia knew that the Talking Sin would provide an exact and explicit reply to the asked question. It wouldn’t diverge from the main subject matter and wouldn’t unnecessarily add details either.
“Ask her about their whereabouts.”
As only Zeke had the opportunity to ask the second question, Celestia tried to direct him only to be shut down by the Talking Sin.
“No, my dear girl. He has to ask something he really wants to know. You know the drill, do you not?”
The fourth-year girl, Celestia Black, grunted in annoyance but didn’t insist. Thus did the six members look at Zeke, apprehensively waiting for his question.
Unfortunately, most of Zeke’s questions were either related to his part of the Paths of Extinction, both of which he didn’t want his new ‘colleagues’ to learn about. So, after careful deliberation, he finally spoke,
“Tell me about the Blood Dusk Society.”
“Mhm! Quite unexpected.” Alexia let out a seductive and unwarranted moan as the snake-like tongue slithered in and out of the abnormally large mouth.
“Created in Year 264 of the Age of Eternal Night by the Demigod Binal Xar Kiyvta. All its members are worshippers of the fallen deity, labeled as the ‘Blood God’ or the ‘Angel of Death’. Currently, it is led by two individuals, one operating in the Nezulian Republic and one in the Serey Zhan Empire. It has 281 members, half of which are spies in public facilities or other secret organizations, while the other half regularly conduct rituals to summon the spawn of the Blood God to this world. The Blood Dusk Society’s primary objective is the revival of the Blood God, but so far, they only managed to find his right arm, his left eye, his torso, and his heart.”
After she was done answering, Alexia seductively winked at Zeke then vanished. The thick black threads around John’s mouth magically returned, stitching his lips on their own.
“Why would you ask about the Blood Dusk Society?”
Obviously, Zeke’s questions left Celestia slightly dissatisfied. Nevertheless, she didn’t press him for an answer, especially when she saw him look back at her with nothing but silence as an answer.